Paradise Lost
by The-Flaming-Moe
Summary: When a simple mission turns into a nightmare, the FFVIII crew must face a danger from the past. Hearts are broken, new friendships are forged, lives are lost and some find comfort in the least likely places. Odd parings, FFVII crossover.
1. Default Chapter

  
  
  


**_CHAPTER ONE_**

_Common Ground_

_"**if you could only see the way**_

**_she loves me_**

**_maybe you would understand_**

**_why I feel this way about our love_**

**_and what I must do . . ."_**

_-If You Could Only See, Tonic_

It was one of those rare afternoons that only come along once or twice a year, the kind you dream about in the dead of winter, when the wind is so bitter you can't feel your face. It was warm outside, but not terribly so, sunny, with a few scattered, puffy clouds in the sky, a light breeze that carried with it the scent of salt and sand. As close to perfect as it gets. There were a million things Irvine might have done on a day like that, but there was only one thing he wanted to do. He wanted to spend that perfect afternoon with the love of his life, his one and only Selphie. She'd been asking him for months to take her to the little secluded beach Irvine had found earlier that spring, and it seemed there was no time like the present. 

Selphie had other plans. "I'm sorry Irvie," she'd moaned. "I'm auditioning bands for the Garden Festival all afternoon long and then I have to get Cid to approve a budget and all that stuff. And I still have to find time to meet the new cadets and give them the tour and assign them to their rooms. I'm sorry, Irvie, I wish I could go but I can't!" 

Ever since Cid made Selphie crowned princess of student affairs, she'd been nothing but busy. It was starting to get on Irvine's nerves that she never had time for him. Everything else came before Irvine, it seemed. New students. Room assignments. Training center expansion. The Garden Festival. At first he'd been all right with it, since Selphie seemed to dominate most of his time, whether he liked it or not, and it gave him a chance to do the things he enjoyed doing without Selphie tagging along. After a while, though, he'd started to miss spending time with her. He missed the way she looked at him when they were alone together. He missed being able to make her laugh and take her out to dinner. There was no more time for that anymore. The Garden Festival was in a month, and it occupied every single spare moment of her time. 

Irvine realized on that afternoon, though he loved her, he needed something more, and that something more was her time. And time wasn't something she was able to give him. With Selphie, it seemed it was all or nothing. Either she was into it or she wasn't, and it seemed she could only be consumed by one passion at a time. 

Obviously, Irvine wasn't her passion of the moment. 

She must have seen his disappointment. "I'm really sorry, Irvie. I'll make it up to you. Promise." 

"Yeah, sure, whatever," he muttered, borrowing Squall's pet phrase, and walked away from her feeling rejected and lonely. 

He started to wonder what had happened to him. Until Selphie came back into his life, he'd fancied myself as a ladies man, and it seemed unusual that a guy like Irvine would devote himself so completely to one girl. Sure, he looked at other girls - a guy can't help it, you know, but he never thought about running around on her. Before Selphie, he'd never been able to commit himself to one and one only. But then, Selphie was his first love. He'd loved her since childhood. Even if she'd forgotten all about him in later years, he'd never forgotten her and he'd never stopped loving her. 

Frustrated and a little hurt, he headed for the quad to watch the eye candy walk by in their little cadet uniforms. He was angry with Selphie and looking for a way to get back at her for being so absorbed with her work, even if his pursuits amounted to little more than looking, in his mind he was justified. No harm in looking. 

The quad was nearly deserted, much to his chagrin. Then he remembered what a nice day it was outside. All the girls were probably at the beach or sunning themselves on the back lawn of Garden. Determined to do something, anything other than mope about Selphie, he turned for the door but as he did so, he heard the soft sound of a girl weeping. Quietly, as if the girl didn't want to be heard. He looked around but didn't see anyone. To Irvine, a crying woman was a prime target. They were vulnerable, in need of comfort and very receptive to sensitivity from a guy. He thought he'd hit pay dirt. 

"Hello?" He called, peering around the quad in search of the girl. 

The sound stopped, but he'd already located the source. He stepped forward and pushed back the fronds of an overgrown palmetto. She sat behind it on the ground with her face pressed into her knees and her body shook with silent sobs. 

"Rinoa?" he asked, surprised to see her there. His quest for vengeance against Selphie's neglect was forgotten in that instant and he knelt down beside his friend, bothered by her tears. Irvine had never been able to stand the sight of a girl crying, especially not a girl who happened to be a close friend of his. "What's wrong?" 

"Everything!" she moaned into her legs. 

"It can't be that bad," he said and wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders. "Tell me what happened." 

"He's a big meanie! That's what happened." 

He couldn't help but chuckle at her explanation. Leave it to Rinoa to be dramatic. 

He heard the sound of voices approaching and glanced around. We were hidden from the view of others, but should we chat about our problems, we'd be heard, no doubt. "Hey," he said, "I was gonna take Selphie to the beach but she's too busy and I'm feeling a bit lonely. You feel like taking a drive? I know a nice, quiet beach where nobody goes." 

She looked at him for a long moment, then wiped away her tears. "You guys are having problems too, hunh?" 

"You might say that," he said. "Now, you go on upstairs and get your bathing suit on. It's a nice day outside and I don't plan to waste it."   
  


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There was no one at the beach when they arrived, just as Irvine had suspected. Rinoa seemed relieved to see that it was deserted and she relaxed a little. "This is nice," she said and looked around. "I never knew there was a beach here." 

Irvine smiled. "My little secret." 

"This is one I think we should keep to ourselves," she said and slipped out of her pale blue sun dress, revealing a skimpy black bikini that reminded Irvine that he was still mad at Selphie. He found himself staring as she laid out a straw mat, then had to kick himself for ogling his best friend's girlfriend. He couldn't help himself, however. He'd never noticed before how attractive she really was. 

"So, you wanna tell me what's going on?" He asked as he leaned back on his elbows and stared at the horizon so that he didn't stare at Rinoa. 

"It's just . . ." she said, searching for the words to explain her dilemma. "He's just so . . . emotionally closed off. And he's always working. We never do anything, never go anywhere, never have any fun. It stinks!" 

She'd just expressed what Irvine had been feeling about Selphie, and he suddenly felt a little less alone. At least there was somebody who understood what he was going through, and though it didn't make him feel any better, it did make him see that he wasn't the only one that felt neglected. "Rinoa, I understand completely. Sefie and I haven't had any time alone since Cid put her in charge of student affairs. She's consumed with it." 

"Yeah," she said with a nod. "That's the word. Consumed. Squall's consumed with the budget and assignments and overhead and . . . ." 

"Selphie's got the Festival Committee and that athletics thing . . ." 

"Acquisitions and the state of world affairs . . ." 

"Flowers, unicorns and rainbows . . ." he added with a grin. 

She laughed at this and shook her head. "Squall, I can kind of understand," she said. "He's never been the type to let anything go, but I'm surprised at Selphie. I thought you two were the most emotionally outward couple there was." 

"We were," Irvine agreed. "But that changed when she started this job. I thought her excitement over it would wear off after a while, but it didn't. It only got worse, and I'm getting tired of being put off, you know?" 

"I know exactly how you feel." 

"Don't get me wrong. I love her. I guess I always have, but . . . I don't want to play second fiddle. It's not fair to me." 

"You're not going to break up with her, are you?" she asked, alarmed. 

"No, nothing like that. I just want her to be less obsessed with work." 

"Ditto," Rinoa said and sighed. "Work is all Squall thinks about." 

"Sounds like the two of them should hook up," Irvine joked. 

"Irvine Kinneas, that's not funny!" Rinoa cried and threw a handful of sand in his direction. 

Maybe it wasn't funny, but it got Irvine thinking. There they were, two attractive people who deserved to be treated well, and the were all but ignored by the people they loved. It was sad really. Rinoa was a nice, if not somewhat emotional girl, and she was so devoted to a guy that paid no attention to how much she cared. Squall might have been Irvine's friend, but he felt like smacking him for not realizing what he had. 

They didn't talk for a while, they just lay there in the sand, soaking up the afternoon sun in a comfortable silence. Irvine was glad that he'd decided to bring Rinoa with him, glad that he didn't waste the day sitting around feeling sorry for himself. He was still ticked off at Selphie, but at least he wasn't stewing about it all by himself or risking her wrath by flirting with the cadets. 

"Thanks for bringing me here," Rinoa said. "I feel better." 

"Me too," he said honestly. "And any time you need to talk, I want you to know you can come to me." 

"Same goes for you," she said. "Any time." 

"You wanna take a dip in that great big pond over yonder?" he drawled. 

"It looks cold," she said, eying the water with suspicion. 

"Chicken?" 

"I am not chicken!" she said, indignant. 

"Well, then," he said, "Let's go." 

The water was a little chilly at first, but after a few moments, it didn't seem so bad, so Irvine ducked under and swam out a ways. It felt nice after sitting in the sun for so long. It was refreshing enough to wash away his frustration with Selphie, he just wished that he'd been able to bring her along. He knew how much she would have enjoyed it. But at least he'd made Rinoa's day a little bit better. 

Rinoa was a little more reluctant to get it over with and was inching into the water a bit at a time. Irvine paused to admire her figure for a second. She was slender, lean and had quite a nice shape. But a second after he realized how attracted he was to her, he felt a pang of guilt stab at him. He remembered the unspoken rule that you don't eyeball your buddy's girl, no matter what she looks like. And the other rule that made Rinoa absolutely off limits, forever. Even if they were to break up, she was still off limits. Never mind the fact that Irvine had a girlfriend. A girl he adored. 

He had three good reasons to quit staring. Try as he might though, he couldn't stop looking at her. 

Thank Hyne she didn't notice.   
  


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Zell was choking again, his face turning a shade of purple Irvine had only seen on a behemoth. He reached behind his friend and gave him a sharp smack on the back, then a second one when the offending hot dog did not dislodge itself from his throat. A half chewed bit of meat and bread flew from his mouth and landed smack in the middle of the table with a surprisingly loud thump. Everyone at the table stared at it for a moment, then looked away, disgusted. 

"You're supposed to chew before you swallow, chicken-wuss," Seifer said with a smirk, though he was as grossed-out as the rest. "Oh, wait. I forgot. Chickens don't have teeth." 

Zell made a face and then lunged at Seifer across the table. "I've told you a thousand times. I am NOT A CHICKEN!" 

Seifer scooted his chair back and chuckled as Zell slid across the table and onto the floor. 

"Graceful, aren't we?" Seifer said and got to his feet. "By the way, chicken-boy, thanks for ruining my appetite." 

"Just wait Seifer. One of these days, I'm gonna get you back," Zell called after him as the tall gunblader walked away chuckling to himself. Then, Zell stalked off in the opposite direction, but not before snatching the last hot dog from his plate and stuffing it down his gullet. 

"You'd think after four years he'd get over it," Rinoa said to Irvine as she put her fork down. 

"You'd think," Irvine replied and pushed away his half eaten dinner. "But it makes for great entertainment." 

Rinoa smiled, distracted by something. "Does it ever bug you to see Seifer back?" 

Irvine hadn't really ever thought about it, so he just shook his head. Seifer had a pretty bad reputation, and he had been Ultimecia's Knight, but Irvine didn't think he was such a bad guy. Irvine considered him someone you want to have on your side when the going got rough. Irvine actually kind of liked him, even though a lot of people are afraid of him. He suppose they had a good reason, but he prefer to give Seifer the benefit of the doubt. 

"I don't know," Rinoa said, "I guess I'm just not used to seeing him here." 

"You'll have to get used to it," a voice behind them said. It was Xu and she appeared to be all business. "I need to see the both of you in my office ASAP." 

Squall had made Xu mission commander about three years before, after the amount of requests for SeeD operatives had become too much for Squall to handle alone. Since then, missions had been handled with efficiency and expertise, thanks to Xu's skill at selecting people who knew what they were doing. Xu made it a point to know everything about the skill levels and abilities of all active SeeDs, and thus eliminated the shipment of random operatives that might or might not be suited for the job. 

In the last few years, SeeD had branched out and started accepting missions that did not necessarily involve conflict. Some were rescue missions, some amnesty, and some had even required a bit of manual labor. Rinoa had the idea to initiate a political science department to train future ambassadors and politicians, a program that stressed such things as proper budgeting, the art of negotiation and placed particular emphasis on ethics, something that was greatly lacking in certain areas of the world. Her program had just recently seen fruition and seemed to be on the right track, though Squall had questioned Rinoa's definition of 'negotiation' in the beginning. Her buddies in the Forest Owls told had everyone tales about Rinoa's idea of negotiating. At seventeen, Rinoa had been on the verge of becoming a terrorist, the way they told it, even if her heart was in the right place at the time. It had probably been in her best interest that she'd hooked up with Squall and the others when she did. 

All this change had been good for SeeD and for Garden. Enrollment had never been higher and their instructors were turning out top rate SeeDs by the dozen. Several additions had been made to the main structure, and Garden had acquired a hundred more acres of the land outside the main campus. Where Garden used to see two or three graduates per exam, there were now twelve to fourteen. 

Rinoa and Irvine exchanged glances as Xu walked away. It had been a while since either of them had been on a mission, so Irvine figured one of two things must have happened. Either the situation was really serious, or Xu was short on manpower. Irvine hoped it was the latter. 

"What did she mean by that?" Rinoa asked as she got to her feet. 

"I don't know, but I don't think I like the sound of it."   
  
  
  


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"Please," Xu said and gestured at the three chairs arranged before her desk. Rinoa, Seifer and Irvine each took a seat. Seifer was uncharacteristically serious for the moment, and Irvine was glad that Seifer had decided prudence was best. With Seifer you could never tell what he might do, but it seemed that he did not mess around when it came to missions. Irvine considered that a good thing, considering he'd probably be stuck with him for an indefinite amount of time. 

"I understand that the three of you are SCUBA certified, am I correct?" Xu asks as she sits. 

The trio nodded. SCUBA certification was a SeeD education course offered by Garden, not a requirement, but a post graduation elective. The three of them had taken the same class a year ago, but this was the first time they would actually need the skill. Irvine was excited. It was so seldom he was able to go diving, something he didn't think he'd enjoy but had ended up loving. He planned one day to take a trip to Centra and dive the underwater caves and maybe go swimming with the people-friendly nurse sharks that schooled there. 

"Good. This mission will entail something of that nature. I don't have many details at present but you are to assist our clients in retrieving the remains of several individuals lost at sea last week. If that sounds like something you can't handle, please speak now," Xu said and eyed us, her gaze lingering on Rinoa the longest. For some reason, Xu had never liked Rinoa much, even though Rinoa never did anything to make Xu dislike her. 

Irvine didn't exactly like the idea, but it wasn't something he would get choked up about either. He'd seen thousands of dead bodies in his twenty one years. A few more wouldn't make much of a difference. 

Seeing that no one was about to back down, Xu continued. "There will be six of you. Irvine, you will be the mission captain. Nida will head up one dive team, Irvine you'll take the other. Beyond that, party distribution is up to you." 

Irvine noticed that both Rinoa and Seifer were a little miffed that neither of them were given a chance to prove their abilities as a leader. He wished she had chosen someone else. He'd never been much of a leader. There was too much responsibility involved in that kind of thing for his tastes. He'd much prefer to be responsible for himself and himself only. However, the mission sounded simple enough, if not a bit gory, and would probably only require minimal leadership on his part. 

So why did he have a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach that this mission wouldn't be quite what it seemed? He hoped he was just being paranoid and decided that he was just nervous because it was his first mission in a while. Even if anything went wrong, he'd have at least three skilled fighters on his side, and with odds like that, he should have felt more confident. 

"Meet the rest of your team in the garage in one hour," Xu said and passed a large manilla envelope marked 'Confidential' Irvine's way. "Some reading material for your trip. Hope you like ships."   
  
  
  


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Fourty-five minutes to departure time and Irvine was ready to go. He decided to go see Selphie before he left, but she wasn't in her office. Her receptionist told him that she was in the Quad, overseeing the stage construction for the up coming Garden Festival. When he arrived at the Quad, he found her chatting with a tall young man holding a guitar case. Whatever he was saying to her made her giggle and bounce on her toes. The way the young man put his hand on Selphie's arm and stood a little too close to her as they talked bothered Irvine. Was the guy trying to moving in on his territory? 

"Hey babe," he said as he approached. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her on the cheek. 

"Hi Irvie!" Selphie said, looking up at him and she flashed a cheerful grin. She pointed to the young man and said, "This is Lozono Dumas. He's gonna play the festival." 

Irvine extended his hand to him, though he couldn't make himself smile. "Irvine. Selphie's _boyfriend_." 

"Nice to meet you," Lozono replied and took a step back. Irvine felt a particular pleasure in having intimidated Lozono enough to make him back up. He had no business touching Selphie, and Irvine intended to let him know it. 

"This year's festival is gonna be the bomb!" Selphie said. "I wish we had a festival every day." 

Irvine smiled at her and shook his head. "Hon, if we had a festival every day you wouldn't even have time to sleep. As it is I hardly see enough of you now." 

"I'd gladly give up sleep," she said with a wistful grin. "Just imagine. Every day, games and cotton candy and music and talent shows and lotsa fun!" 

He noticed she didn't mention anything about him. That hurt. She was so consumed with this festival thing, it was truly all she thought about. Annoyed with her, Irvine pulled away. "Hey Selph, I just stopped by to let you know I'll be gone a few days." 

"Did you get a mission?" she asked, not even noticing that he'd let her go or that his attitude had changed. She stared up at the stage and watched a pair of young men fiddle with the wiring. "Hey, fix the lights first!" she called out to them. 

"Yeah, I got a mission," he told her and crossed his arms against his chest. "You gonna give me a kiss good bye or are you too busy?" 

She flashed him a guilty smile and gave him a peck on the cheek. That was it. Irvine had expected her usual ferocious attack but a peck on the cheek was all he got, and that upset him. "Dinner when you get back?" she asked, still watching the technicians on the girder above the stage. 

"Sure," Irvine muttered and walked away without saying good bye. It was then that he seriously began to think about leaving her. He loved her, but couldn't deal with being virtually ignored in favor of some stupid festival. He was glad it made Selphie happy, but there came a point where she should have been able to disengage herself from her work and do something else for a while. She ate, slept and breathed the Garden Festival and it was becoming too much for him to handle. He didn't want to spend the rest of his life taking a back seat to Selphie's latest passion. 

He decided the best course of action was to take the next several days to think long and hard on what he should do. He didn't want to make a decision based on his emotions, he wanted it to be logical and well thought out. 

From the look on Rinoa's face when Irvine arrived at the garage, she'd just endured something similar and she could only shake her head at him when he questioned her. She didn't feel up to talking about her situation any more than Irvine did. It made the ride to Balamb Harbor unpleasantly quiet. Everyone in the car picked up on their dour moods and remained silent, even Seifer. Unfortunately, with nothing but the scenery to occupy the time, the trip seemed much longer than it actually was. 

As they boarded the _Lonely Pandora_, the vessel that would take them to their destination, Irvine had no idea that they were about to embark on the most terrifying mission of their lives.   
  


_To be continued . . . ._

  
  


_A/N: Ok guys. Take it easy on me. This is my first fan fiction, so I hope it's at least intriguing enough for you to want to read more. I've been lurking around here for a while, reading and learning how its done. I'm not sure if I've done a good job or not, so I'd appreciate some feedback. I know it kind of starts off with some cheese, but the cheese is important to later events. Trust me. It won't be all cheese. Promise.___

_This is a re-write of what I posted a couple of days ago. I've changed formats a bit, opting to write in third person because i was having too much trouble with only writing from Irvine's perspective. I hope I've fixed the problems with this first chapter...thanks to PodSara for giving me a hand with that.___

_So, about this fiction. This will eventually turn into a FF7 cross over, probably by chapter four. I'll warn you in advance, there are some off the wall parings coming up, stuff I've never seen done before, and I hope I don't get flamed for it. I like the traditional parings well enough, but I wanted to try something that's not done as often. One of them, I don't think I've ever seen on this site or any other, and it will be interesting to see the reaction it gets. That is, if anyone's bothering to read this. So far it's not been well received.___

_Help me out guys. Review me, CC me, give me some feedback.___

_Thanks! Charlie._   
  
  
  
  



	2. Under the Sea

**Chapter Two**

Under the Sea

"**_When tempest-tossed, embrace chaos."_**

-The Book of Counted Sorrows

It took the teams two days to reach their destination, which was approximately fifty five miles west of the southern coast of Esthar, give or take a few miles. Irvine was glad for the down time. It gave him a chance to assess the situation between he and Selphie. He spent the majority of the trip deep in thought, as did Rinoa, who was uncharacteristically solemn. By the time they'd reached the dive site, Irvine was no closer to making a decision than he was before. On one hand, he loved Selphie. On the other, he didn't want to put up with her current behavior. He didn't think he was asking a whole lot of her, he just needed a little face time every now and then. It didn't have to be every day, but at least once a week he'd like to enjoy a quiet evening with her, an evening without talk of the Garden Festival or whatever her latest passion happened to be. 

When they arrived at our location, they suited up and Irvine made the team assignments. He decided to keep Rinoa with him and let Seifer join Nida's team. The other two members of their party he didn't know all that well, but Rinoa assured him they were capable and professional. Irvine chose Myrna Lilliard as the third in his party, who was a pretty young thing, and sent Jong Fen down with Nida. 

"Hogging all the ladies to yourself, cowboy?" Seifer mumbled as he stood beside Irvine on the deck of the ship. "Better watch yourself. You don't want word to get back that you've got designs on the commander's girl." 

That statement really bothered the cowboy. How could he think Irvine was after Rinoa? Whether or not she and Squall were having problems, Irvine had no intention of chasing after her. "Trust me, pal. I've got enough women troubles as it is," Irvine told him. "Don't need another to complicate things." 

"Good. Make sure you keep it that way." 

Irvine's team was the first to go down. They decided it would be better to split up into shifts to avoid prolonged exposure to the chilly water. It didn't mean they'd get the job done any faster, but it would be easier on all of them if limited amounts of time were spent below the surface. Their client, Esthar's Naval Commander, Andreas Hijn agreed that this was a wise decision. 

They located the sunken submarine on their first try. It lay on its side, the exposed portion smashed in as if something enormous had broad sided it. Indeed, there was a deep trench that indicated that the submarine had either been dragged or hit hard enough to cause it to slide along the ocean floor for fifty meters or more, Irvine couldn't really be sure due to limited visibility. Something had hit the sub and it had been hit hard. 

It was an old diesel sub that Esthar used in training missions. Esthar had several new nuclear subs with all kinds of state of the art technology but they had retained a couple of the old diesels for training purposes because Galbadia still used the archaic model in combat. Though it was a time of peace, Esthar often conducted war games below the surface, the team in the nuclear sub representing Esthar and the team in the diesel representing Galbadia. It was then that a game of kill or be killed was played beneath, the first sub to fire upon the opponent and make the target the victor. 

Irvine couldn't imagine why anyone would want to spend any significant amount of time in a hot dog shaped contraption that submerged itself completely in water. At least on a ship, he'd have a chance. On a sub, there were only two options should something go wrong, wait for rescue and hope you don't run out of air, or drown. Not a pleasant thought. It looked to him like the poor bastards aboard this sub hadn't even had a hope of rescue. What a way to die. 

It didn't appear to him that the sub had been struck by a missile of any kind. There were no large holes or openings of on the exposed hull, only the deep crease in its side, and he wondered what might have caused a wreck like this. It didn't look like any training accident to him and it gave him the creeps. 

Irvine signaled to Rinoa and Myrna that they would go ahead and attempt to enter the sunken vessel. Rinoa returned the OK signal and they began their search of a way inside. 

It was Myrna that found an opening near the bottom of the hull. It was a puncture of some kind, an odd shape, more of a jagged tear in the steel than a hole, and Irvine doubted it had been caused by a missile. It was wide enough to allow them to enter one at a time and he signaled to his crew that he wanted to go in. As much as he didn't want to go inside, there were eighteen bodies awaiting a proper burial in Esthar and it was his job to retrieve them. 

He motioned to Myrna to stay put and then to Rinoa that she was to follow him. He entered, taking his time so that his oxygen tank would not get caught up on anything on the way in. It was so dark inside his flashlight barely penetrated the blackness. Rinoa entered behind him and shone her own flashlight around, but it did little to illuminate the interior either. It gave Irvine the chills to witness a blackness so thick the light from the powerful flashlights seemed almost eaten up by the darkness. They swept their beams around slowly, searching for the bodies of the crew but there were none to be found. When the sub had been hit, this section had probably started to flood and the sailors had fled to higher ground. What the were looking for wasn't here. They would have to venture deeper inside. 

The chill was starting to get to Irvine. They would have to surface soon or end up with hypothermia. Still, he wanted to find what they could while they were down there. 

There were two doors to choose from. One fore and one aft. Irvine chose the one closest to the front, reasoning that there would have to have been someone at the controls. He beckoned to Rinoa and together they turned the valve that opened the door. It opened easier than Irvine had imagined it would. 

If Irvine could have sworn, he would have when they entered the control room. The bodies of two young men rested against the bottom, their faces bloated and pale under the weak light of their beams. He shuddered, and this time, not just from the chill. 

The young man closest to them, his eye sockets were empty black pits, and his mouth was opened in a silent scream. Worse than that, it appeared that his tongue was missing. It was the most horrific, gruesome thing Irvine had ever seen, even compared to some of the victims of battle he'd been privy to. He could not tear his eyes away from those two black holes where the young sailor's eyes should have been. He doubted that drowning had been the primary cause of death in this instance. 

Rinoa was just as horrified as Irvine was. She could no more move forward to retrieve them than he could. She seemed paralyzed as she hovered weightless by the door. Without warning, the young man's hand lifted up from it's former resting point. It slowly reached out for Rinoa and his body twisted, floating weightlessly from the floor, bringing him to his feet. His head hung against his chest and Irvine could no longer see the holes where his eyes had been. The hand stretched forward, inch by inch . . . 

Rinoa reeled back and bumped into the wall behind her. She was on the verge of panic and she motioned to Irvine that she wanted to go up. Irvine didn't blame her one bit. An eyeless, bloated zombie was not something he wanted to play with fifty feet beneath the ocean, especially when he'd left my best rifle up on the ship, and even if he had brought it, it's effects would be largely ineffective. 

The dead man had stopped reaching for Rinoa and began to drift back to the floor as slowly as he'd risen. Irvine realized that it was just the current making him move and felt a profound sense of relief. Nevertheless, it had disturbed him enough to make him want to go back up too. He pointed to the bodies and indicated that he'd take the closest one, and Rinoa was to take the other. She gave him a reluctant nod and Irvine noticed that she tried not to look at the boy's face as she fit the harness around his body.   
  
  
  
  


That night Irvine had trouble sleeping. It wasn't being away from home that bothered him, nor the gentle rocking of the boat. He kept seeing that young sailor's face every time he closed my eyes, the image of death burned on the back of his lids. He kept seeing his empty eye sockets and the open mouth frozen in a perpetual cry of agony. He shuddered and turned over on the bed and tried to think of good things. Selphie's perfume. Ma Dincht's Blackened Balamb Fish. Seifer calling Zell chicken-wuss. A cruise through the mountains on my motorcycle. Fujin beating the crap out of Raijin. The beach. Rinoa in a bikini. 

Rinoa in a bikini? A nice thing, but not something he should have been thinking of. He knew Squall would have killed him if he knew Irvine was fantasizing about his girlfriend, especially when Irvine already had one of his own. 

They had retrieved six of the eighteen bodies by sun down, and they hoped to retrieve the remaining twelve by sun down the following day. None of them wanted to draw it out any longer than needed. It was too ugly and too sad. The sooner they could finish, the better. There were other reasons for wanting to finish quickly. The sheer horror of those boys faces was enough to make them want to do their job and go home. 

"Irvine?" came a soft whisper in the darkness and Irvine lifted his head from the pillow to see who it was. Rinoa stood in the door way clasping an elbow with her hand. Her face was pale in the dim light, and she appeared a ghost in his doorway. For a second, it looked as if her eyes were empty black sockets and it made Irvine start a bit, even though he knew it was just a trick of light. 

"What's wrong?" he asked, worried that something bad had happened. 

"I couldn't sleep." 

"Neither could I." 

"I hate to ask you this, but do you mind if I lay down next to you? I'd feel a lot better if there was someone next to me." 

Irvine didn't want to say yes because it meant if Squall found out, he was in big trouble, but the truth was, Irvine needed comfort too. "Sure," he said reluctantly and threw back the covers. 

She climbed in and turned her body so that they lay face to face, but not too close. She had her space and Irvine had his. A good, platonic arrangement. "Why can't you sleep?" 

"A lot on my mind," Irvine said. He didn't want to admit that he was spooked. 

She sighed and settled her head into the pillow. "I kept seeing that boy. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw him reach for me." She shuddered and Irvine reached out to pull her closer. He don't know why he wanted or needed her close to him, it just felt right, and he was surprised to find she felt right in his arms. 

He let her go after a few seconds. He felt guilty. In need of comfort or not, he knew he didn't have any right to take advantage of the situation. But Hyne Almighty he was attracted to her. On more than one level. There were things about Rinoa that Selphie couldn't offer him. After four years, Selphie hadn't changed a bit. Rinoa, though at times as dramatic as Selphie, had matured a lot and she'd left behind much of her girlishness in that time. Selphie could be so childish, and Irvine won't couldn't deny that Rinoa wasn't sometimes that way too, but not to the extreme that Selphie was. Four years ago, Selphie's childish wonder at all things 'cute' was attractive to Irvine, but a man grows tired of hearing about the wonders of teddy bears, stickers and the pursuit of love, peace and happiness. 

There were other things too. Rinoa was content with silence. Selphie was not. Every moment of the day had to be filled with excitement and action. Selphie still took delight in blowing things up, just like a ten year old boy with bottle rockets. She talked before, during and after sex. In fact, her chatter never ever stopped. She even talked in her sleep. And Irvine couldn't get her to eat a meal that didn't include sweets of some kind. Candy, ice cream, fruit loops. At least Rinoa had sense enough to eat balanced meals. 

Irvine decided right then and there to end things between he and Selphie. It wasn't that he didn't love her, he just needed something different. He had come to realize that he needed someone who could grow and change with me, someone who appreciated the things he did. He knew that it would probably break her heart, and he knew she probably wouldn't even see it coming. He would probably seem like a jerk to her afterwards, and maybe he was being a jerk but he couldn't see himself being happy with her any longer. 

And he had to stop thinking about Rinoa. She wasn't available and didn't want to be. Add to that the fact that she was his best friend's girl and officially off limits all the way around. 

Beside him, Rinoa sighed. "What are you thinking about?" she asked. 

"You'd shoot me if I told you," he replied and rolled over turning his back to her. "Try to get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow."   
  
  
  
  
  


All the bodies they'd found were the same. Mouth wide open, minus tongue and eyes. Whatever killed them must really have had a taste for it because they seemed to be the only things missing. None of the extremities had been nibbled on, no fingers or toes, each one missing only the tongue and eyes. It seemed bizarre to Irvine. He didn't understand how something could have gotten into the sealed compartments. There were no gaps or holes, and there was no sign of any kind of life inside the closed off sections of the sub, so it wasn't as if a school of carnivorous fish with a taste for human delicacies had wandered in had had themselves a snack. 

The whole situation was disturbing. This was no ordinary maritime accident, that much was clear, but when questioned, Commander Hijn became evasive and would find an excuse to avoid the SeeDs. 

When Nida became ill with decompression sickness, a build up of nitrogen bubbles in the blood stream, Irvine was forced to pull a double shift to cover him. He didn't like the idea, since he'd be risking the same thing plus hypothermia, but he agreed in favor of getting the job done and getting away from the gory and disturbing bodies. 

"Sure you don't want me to go in your place?" Rinoa asked as he pulled on the neoprene wet suit. Concern lined her features and her brown eyes expressed a kind of fear that Irvine hadn't seen there in a very long time. 

"If we have time, you can go later," he suggested, placating her. He had no intention of letting Rinoa go down again if it wasn't necessary. 

"Irvine, be careful down there," she said, hugging herself. "I have a bad feeling about this." 

He nodded in agreement. 

"Ready to go, cowboy?" Seifer asked. "There's still six of 'em down there. Let's go get 'em and go home." 

"I'm with you on that." 

There were two chambers they had yet to explore. In the first they found two more bodies, meaning that the remaining four would be in the last chamber. Irvine tried his best to ignore their faces, but he didn't need to see them to know that they too were missing pieces. 

Irvine motioned to Seifer that they should go up and come back for the last four. Seifer gave the OK signal and headed for the exit. When they reached the first chamber and approached the opening, there was a sudden surge in the current that lifted the pair up and Irvine was pushed against the roof. The body attached to his harness pulled at him and he was forced to grab onto a pipe to keep from being pinned against the opposite wall. Seifer too was having trouble and braced himself against a duct of some kind. 

The swell died down and Irvine let go of the pipe and glanced over at Seifer. 

_O. U. T. _Seifer spelled in sign language. _N.O.W._   
  
  


Seifer was spooked. He was not a man easily roused by danger, and nearly unflappable in even the worst situations, but he had never so badly wanted to go home. There was something terribly, terribly wrong, and the former knight had no intention of falling victim to whatever had killed the crew. He sensed that whatever was out there was still hanging around, maybe even close by just waiting for a chance to suck their eyeballs out. 

Before he and Irvine had a chance to slip out through the tear in the hull, something slammed into the submarine and Seifer collided with the opposite wall hard enough to knock the breath from his lungs. For a moment he could not breathe as the downed sub shuddered around him. His eyes were riveted to the gap that formed their exit. A shadow, dark and massive passed over the gap, blocking out all the light the hole provided. One single scaly tendril wormed it's way inside the sub, and writhed against the roof for an instant then withdrew. 

And then, as quickly as the shadow had appeared, it vanished and light spilled in from the opening. 

Seifer motioned to Irvine, who was recovering from the jolt and he made a gesture Seifer didn't understand. He waved his hand around in a circle above him and pointed to the exit. _G.O._ he spelled. 

Seifer nodded and fought against the current to the opening in front of him, a little reluctant to leave, but even more reluctant to go. Whatever was going on outside, he wanted out. To hell with the bodies, and to hell with the mission. He was thinking only of self preservation. The crew in the final chamber were already dead, and Seifer wasn't willing to die to find them. If they'd been alive, that would have been different, but they were already gone. It didn't seem worth his life, nor anyone else's. 

Seifer slipped out through the hole ahead of Irvine. Irvine gave pause for a moment and pointed to where they'd left Jong. 

The young SeeD's mask had been ripped off and his mouth gaped open in a wide, terrified scream. No eyes in his face, no tongue in his mouth. He floated weightless in the water in front of Seifer, and he couldn't bring himself to move. Never in his life had Seifer ever wanted to scream so badly. Never had he ever felt so claustrophobic. He started to freak out, sucking great mouthfuls of air through the aspirator, unable to control his breathing, all the while realizing that fifty feet from the surface was not a good place to freak out. 

Seifer grabbed their fallen comrade and began the painfully slow ascent to the surface. Seifer thought surely they'd die before they got there, that whatever had gotten Jong would get them too. He didn't know what it was and didn't care to find out. He didn't even want to think about what it might be or where it came from. Escape was all he cared about, escaping and going home. 

When they breached the surface unharmed, Seifer did not feel relieved. He wouldn't feel safe again until he was back at Garden with his feet on solid ground. 

Seifer yanked his mask off. "What the hell was that?!" he cried. 

"I don't know, but I think we should get out of here." 

"I second that," he said, panting. 

Together we swam for the ship, half expecting the thing from the deep to suck one or both of us under and rape their skulls as it had nineteen other people. Seifer wasn't aware that he was chilled, but by the time he climbed aboard the Lonely Pandora, He shook so hard he could barely stand. Irvine too was having difficulty and he sprawled on the deck as soon as he'd removed his oxygen tanks. 

Naturally, there were a lot of questions, but neither were in any shape to answer them. Commander Hijn hauled them into the decompression chamber, even though it probably wasn't needed. He made no comment about their fallen team mate, and that bothered Seifer. He knew more than he was telling us, and he planned to find out.   
  
  
  
  
  


"I want to know what the hell ate your crew and my team mate!" Seifer demanded, standing before the stoic Commander, not caring that his tone was insolent or that his behavior bordered on insubordination. 

The five SeeDs sat in the cabin, all eyes on Hijn. He was cornered and he knew it but he wasn't talking. 

"Commander," Rinoa said, "nineteen people are dead. If you know what killed them, you have to speak up. Otherwise, consider yourself in breach of contract." 

Of all of them, Rinoa was the most composed and the most level headed given their situation. Even Nida was spooked enough to keep his peace while Seifer raged, and Irvine was still too upset about Jong to deal with it. All poor Myrna could do is cry in her cabin. 

"It would scare you out of your wits if I told you the truth," Hijn said. "None of you can even comprehend what is out there right now." 

"Do you think we're stupid to understand?" Seifer spat. 

The commander glared at Seifer. "Son, you are coming dangerously close to angering me." 

"You've _already_ pissed me off, and trust me, you don't want to get on my bad side," Seifer said as he fingered the handle of his gun blade. He was having a difficult time keeping his temper in check, and he wasn't sure he should even bother. It would have given Seifer great pleasure to see the man squirm, or better whipped within an inch of his life, but the former knights days of rash violence were over. 

"Sir," Rinoa interjected, "You requested our help. We can't give you our best when we don't know what it is that we're dealing with. We may be a bunch of mercenaries, but I guarantee we're not stupid. Whatever it is that you know, I ask you to tell us now." 

"The only thing you need to know is that there was a training accident and the only reason you're here is to assist in the retrieval of our crew," Hijn said. "Everything else is classified." 

Irvine exchanged glances with Rinoa and shrugged. They were getting nowhere with the commander, and it didn't look like he would change his mind. 

"Then I am afraid we can not continue to provide our assistance," Rinoa said. "I will not let any more of my team be sacrificed for this mission." 

"I'll see to it that you get back to Garden as soon as possible," Hijn said. "I will arrange for your transport first thing tomorrow."   
  
  
  


That night, the five SeeDs shared the same cabin instead of retiring to their separate quarters. None of them wanted to be alone, not that being together would save them from whatever was down there, but it gave them a little peace of mind. It was cramped but they managed after Seifer found a cot, dragged it into Irvine's cabin and set it up between the beds. Myrna had attached herself to Nida and it didn't look as if she planned to let go any time soon. Jong had been one of her closest friends and she was having a difficult time dealing with his death. Irvine had to hand it to Nida, though, it almost seemed he enjoyed having her cling to him. 

Irvine had no problem with Rinoa joining him that night. Squall could go to hell, for all he cared. He needed someone beside him to remind him that he was still alive. This time, he held her close, glad to feel her warmth beside him. He noticed her hair smelled like wild flowers. 

Irvine lay awake most of the night while the rest slept, keeping an ear out for any noise that was out of the ordinary. All he heard was the sound of the sea gently lapping at the side of the boat. Ordinarily this sound would have lulled him to sleep but now it held the promise of death. Somewhere out there lurked a brutal evil, the likes of which this world had never seen before. He didn't even pretend to think they were any match for it. Whatever it was, it was big and it was fast and it killed with out prejudice. Maybe they were sitting ducks, just waiting for it to strike. 

Some time around dawn, Irvine decided it was time to get up. I'd had enough of laying there listening to Seifer snore, and it was doubtful he'd get any sleep before everyone else woke up. He climbed from the bed, careful not to wake Rinoa, who'd tossed and turned most of the night, restless with what might have been nightmares. 

Commander Hijn was on deck already. He leaned against the railing, a cigarette dangling from his lips. 

"Morning Sir," Irvine greeted him. 

He responded with a silent nod and stared out at the great ocean beyond. "I've put in twenty years of service in the Esthar Navy, son. Would you believe me if I told you there are things in this world that defy explanation?" 

"I'm not a stranger to stuff like that," Irvine replied and leaned against the rail. "Hell, things that defy explanation is something I've gotten used to." 

"Hmph. Well I suppose you have," he said and tossed the cigarette overboard. "You SeeDs are an interesting bunch." 

Irvine nodded and wondered where the commander was going with this. He kept his silence, hoping that he'd share some of that classified information with him. 

"You spend twenty years of your life working for an organization, and you think you know it inside and out. Then one day, you wake up and realize that you know nothing about it," Hijn said solemnly. "The stakes are different, the personal cost of things have changed and you're forced to make sacrifices you should know better than to make." 

Irvine didn't understand what he was talking about. He adjusted his hat and leaned against the railing, peering over the edge at the sapphire waters below. Had to wonder if that thing was down there, maybe right below them. That thought spooked the cowboy, so he took a step back and waited for the commander to continue. 

"When you were down there, did you see it?" he asked, looking at me, his expression revealing nothing of his intentions. 

"No, sir. I didn't see it, but I know it's big," Irvine replied. 

"I can't tell you what it is, son. All I can say is that you SeeDs best be prepared for what is coming," he said and then left Irvne alone with just the rail between himsef and the vast ocean beyond.   
  
  
  
  
  
  


"Squall, you can't be serious!" Rinoa said into her cell phone. She'd decided to contact Garden and update them on their situation, and to let them know they would be coming home without completing their objective. They'd all agreed that no one wanted to continue the mission. 

Squall was not having any of it. "I'm sure it's not as bad as it seems. Just finish the job and come home." 

"But Squall, the thing _ate_ Jong. If you think I'm going back down there you're nuts!" 

"Did you see it?" 

"No, I didn't see it but I don't _need_ to see it to know that we don't stand a chance against it!" Rinoa cried into the phone. She was furious with him for failing to believe the situation was as bad as it was. 

"Rinoa, if you don't complete the mission, I'll have to place all of you on suspension." 

Rinoa glanced at Irvine and made a face. Then she held the phone away from her ear and extended her middle finger against the mouth piece. Seifer and Irvine chuckled. 

"Go ahead, suspend us, but it won't make us go back," she said. "This is one mission I'm _not_ willing to die for." 

Seifer snatched the phone away from her. She smacked him on the back of the head, but he ignored her. "Listen Puberty-boy, we're all in agreement here. _We're not going back down there._" 

"He says we're supposed to stay and finish the job, whether we like it or not," Rinoa said as she took a seat beside Irvine. She was so angry with Squall, she could almost feel the smoke pouring from her ears. He wasn't getting the fact that there was some creature down there and it wasn't friendly. 

"So I gather," Irvine replied and propped his feet up on the table. "What should we do?" 

"I don't care!" Seifer cried into the phone. "You want the job done so badly, get your ass out here and finish it yourself. _We_ are going _home_." 

"Squall's being a real jerk," Rinoa muttered and crossed. "It's as if he doesn't care if I get my eyeballs and tongue sucked out by the thing from the deep." 

The ship began to rock then, slowly at first, then faster, as if a storm were coming. Rinoa peered out the window to see a clear, blue sky above and no threat of foul weather on the horizon. Rinoa glanced at Irvine and her face drained of color when the ship lurched forward then tipped to the side. Across the room, Seifer was thrown to the floor. The phone flew from his and and slid underneath the table in the center of the room. 

"What the hell is that?" he asked, steadying himself as he got to his feet. 

"I don't know, but you better sit down," Irvine suggested as the boat cantered about in the waves. 

Rinoa retrieved the phone and spoke into the mouthpiece as she sat on the floor. The ship lurched again and a chair slid across the floor and smacked into her thigh. "Squall, do what you can to get us out of here. We're in danger," she said and then hung up without hearing his reply. "Is a storm brewing?" she asked, glancing at the window. 

Outside, the swells had grown from a light chop to massive walls of water that threatened to capsize the ship. The waves pounded the sides of the ship and foam sprayed across the deck, washing over it as if the sea intended to claim them for it's own. Rinoa was beginning to feel nauseous from the rocking. 

"It's that thing, isn't it?" Seifer said. 

"Everyone, out on deck!" Nida cried as he clung to the doorway to keep from falling over. "You guys have to see this to believe it!" 

The three SeeDs glanced at each other. Rinoa didn't want to see it any more than they did, but amazingly, all three got to their feet and stumbled out onto the deck. It was slick with water, and Rinoa had trouble not toppling over with each swell. 

Seifer was the first to see it. "Holy Hyne," he murmured and pointed. Rinoa followed his gaze, and she saw it too and felt a deep, gripping horror swell within her breast. 

  


A/N: Gave myself the heebie jeebies writing this. Did it creep anyone else out? Anyway, I hope this is getting better. Review please!   
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  



	3. The Deep Blue Sea

**CHAPTER THREE**

The Deep Blue Sea

**_"I never saw you arrive_**

**_although you're always around_**

**_making your day_**

**_close to the ground_**

**_feeding on what's left behind..."_**

_-Chameleon, Gorefest_

It was huge. Irvine wasn't sure if it it was machine or creature, and he didn't care. Its massive head had a sword-like protrusion on top and it's teeth dripped with saliva. A long scaly tail stuck out of the water behind it and waved slowly back and forth. Irvine didn't doubt that it could smash them to smithereens with one simple sweep of it's enormous arm. There was nothing he could do but stand there in awe of its sheer size. He'd never seen anything like it in his life time, and he doubted he'd ever see anything like it again. 

The _Lonely Pandora_ continued to rock in the swells created by the thing, and Irvine though for sure, if the creature didn't crush them, the waves would. He grabbed hold of the railing beside Seifer and Rinoa to prevent himself from slipping on the wet deck. Cowboy boots did not grip wet surfaces well. 

"Hyne, what is that thing?" Rinoa asked. 

"You got me," Irvine replied. 

The creature-machine raised its fist into the air and brought it down into the water before the vessel, sending ever more waves in their direction. The ship tipped into the first, leaning very nearly sideways, and Irvine was treated to a horizontal view of the sea below him for several seconds before he was thrown back by the force of the water spilling onto the deck. Indeed, the water plus gravity drove them all the way back to the railing on the opposite side and Irvine slammed into it with such a force that he could not find breath for several long seconds. 

Irvine gripped the rail tight and held on to prevent himself from being pinioned back and forth between the two rails. All the while, he kept his eyes on the massive thing in the water. 

It opened its mouth and let out a low groan, "Wwwwwweeeeeee." Irvine thought he could feel the bass notes of its voice rattle his very bones. 

"Irvine, what is it?" Rinoa asked again as she wrapped her arm around the rail and held tight. 

"No clue," Irvine replied. He recovered his breath and steadied himself as the ship tipped once more. For several seconds the trio hung from the rail and were treated to an aerial view of the monster. It towered above them, the spire upon it's head glistening in the early morning sun. It appeared enraged about something and its tail lifted from the ocean and slammed down behind it as if it were having a temper tantrum. 

The ship rocked back and Irvine's feet smacked the deck hard enough to make his feet ache. 

"Think there's a chance it will go away?" Seifer asked. He readjusted his grip on the rail and glanced behind him as the ship rolled on its side. 

"Doubt it," Irvine replied. He felt the water at his back. "Better hold your breath this time." 

Less than a second later, the three were submerged in chilly salt water. Irvine squeezed his eyes shut and prayed that the ship would not buckle soon. He was sure if this continued, it certainly would. If the creature didn't eat them first, he supposed. 

When they emerged, they saw the thing had moved closer, its jaw working back and forth and its serpentine eyes focused directly on the SeeDs. Perhaps it was imagining them as its next meal. "Weeeeepppppp . . . ." it hissed, then raised its enormous arm. Irvine drew what he thought might be his last breath. "It's been fun guys," he told his comrades. 

"Don't you punk out, cowboy," Seifer said, but it was not said in a harsh way. He sounded as frightened as Irvine was. 

The arm reached out and smashed into the bow of the ship, then swept across the deck, crumpling the railing as it went. Before the SeeDs had a chance to run, not that they had a place to run, they were sent flying into the icy water of the ocean, each still clutching the railing as if that alone would save them.   
  
  
  


Squall Leonhart shook off the worry that had plagued him since Rinoa had hung up on him earlier and returned to his work. It was like Rinoa to be dramatic, but it was wholly unlike her to back out on even the most dangerous mission. Xu had told him that this was a simple recovery job, nothing complex or dangerous. No monsters to fight, no need for their weapons. Squall was willing to bet that she was trying to manipulate him into something, though he didn't understand what it could be. This was not Rinoa's typical M.O. She was usually less direct about what she wanted, and on the phone she had told him exactly what she wanted. To come home. 

Seifer too had asked to come home, which was even more unusual. Seifer lived for danger, he fed on it and it was very unlike him to back out once he'd committed himself to something. He'd never been one for following orders, but once his mind was on a job, he completed it, success or failure, he saw it through all the way to the end. Squall found this very worrisome. 

Quistis burst into the office, pale faced and wide eyed. "Squall, Laguna is on line three. He says there has been some trouble on the _Lonely Pandora.___

_What the hell?___

"Thank you Quistis," Squall replied and picked up the phone. "Commander Leonhart." 

"Hiya son," Laguna said. He was less chipper than usual, further adding weight to Squall's worries. 

"What's the situation?" 

"We lost contact with the crew of the Pandora about ten minutes ago. We're trying to re-establish contact, but there's been no response yet." 

"Could they be having problems with their radios?" 

"Perhaps, but if that were the case, Commander Hijn's last discernible words wouldn't have been '_Holy Mother of HYNE!'_" 

Squall hesitated and tapped his pen against his computer key board, contemplating what Rinoa and Seifer had told him before they were cut off. _The thing ate Jong.___

"Rinoa said something about one of their team mates being 'eaten.' Did Hijn communicate anything like that to you?" Squall asked. 

"Not that I recall. He said the mission was right on track and that there were four bodies left to retrieve. We discussed arrangement for transport early tomorrow morning," Laguna said. 

Squall found this news strange. Everything was right on track. "All right. Contact me if you hear any news, sir." 

Laguna was quiet for a minute. "You think you'll ever find it in your heart to call me dad?" 

"Sir . . . now is not the time to ask me that question," Squall said. "We'll sit down and talk one of these days." 

Truth be told, Squall had been putting off that particular discussion for a couple of years now and it was still difficult to think of Laguna as his father. He supposed he should accept it, but it was hard. 

He shook off these thoughts and said his good byes. In his chair, he leaned back and a look of worry crossed his usually stony face. This was not adding up . . . .   
  
  
  


Tifa Lockheart sighed as she locked the door of the bar behind her and stepped out onto the wide patio that surrounded the building. After Meteor, she'd decided to go as far away from Midgar and Nibelheim as she could get. There were too many painful memories associated with both places, so she had decided to go to Mideel and start her life over. Mideel had seemed like the perfect location for this, and thus far, it had been a paradise set apart from the rest of the world. Business was good, now that the town had been rebuilt and she'd made plenty of new acquaintances but she did miss her friends. 

They'd barely escaped with their lives when the airship crashed, and poor Barrett flirted with death for days following the incident but he'd pulled through, much to everyone's relief. After that, however, nothing had been the same. Yuffie returned to her home town, as had Barrett, Cid and Nanaki. Cloud, on the other hand never stayed in one place long enough to keep track of him, and Tifa had not heard from him in about eight months now. She knew that he was on a quest to destroy what was left of the Mako reactors, as if erasing their existence would also erase the damage that had been done to him by the Shinra over the years. Shinra didn't even exist any more, so Tifa felt that Cloud's obsession with destroying what was left of them was something of a wasted effort. Tifa new better than to try to change his mind, though. As much as she worried, she knew he was a big boy and could take care of himself. 

She hadn't heard from Vincent in more than a year, nor had she received any communication from Reeve in that time but she'd heard that he was the head of a prestigious 'intelligent toy' company that produced playthings that were capable of learning from their owner. This news hadn't surprised Tifa at all. 

She walked down the path, taking in the fresh morning air, which was cool and held just a hint of the briny scent of the sea. Every morning before she opened the bar for lunch, which had become very popular thanks to her spectacular, ever-rotating buffet, Tifa enjoyed a walk down to the beach and back. She enjoyed the time alone and she did it more for peace of mind than she did for the exercise. She often took the opportunity to think about problems and solutions, to reminisce on things past or simply to clear her head. This morning, as she strolled out of town, taking care to check that she was equipped with the proper materia, she thought about how lucky she was to be self sufficient, successful and well in health. Her establishment was listed in all of the tourist guide books as a hot spot one should not miss when visiting Mideel. Money was no longer an issue, and it didn't look to be an issue for a long time to come. 

But Tifa was alone in Mideel. She was well aquatinted with the townspeople, and she had several regulars that made good conversation, but it wasn't the same as having her friends close. This morning, the idea occurred to her to have a reunion, but she doubted everyone would be able to come. Yuffie was making waves in her home town of Wutai as a top rate instructor in the ways of the Ninja, and was probably booked solid for the next year. And Cloud could be anywhere in the world. The others would come, Tifa was certain, and that might be enough, but it was Cloud that she really wanted to see. 

Tifa had been jealous of Cloud's feelings for Aeris for a long time, but it had been a while since the bitter emotion had crossed her heart, and Tifa was glad for that. Cloud was her friend, and she had long ago accepted that a friend was all he would ever be. That didn't mean she didn't miss him. 

The land sloped downward towards the beach, and Tifa paused to inspect the horizon. The news broadcast at dawn had said to expect high winds and rain to begin some time after noon, but Tifa saw no clouds in the distance, just a clear, heavenly blue expanse from one horizon to the other. 

"Well, there's a sight for sore eyes," a familiar voice said behind her. 

Tifa didn't need to see him to know who he was. She spun around on the heel of her boot and cried, "Barrett!" 

"Good ta see ya," Barrett said and swept her up into a bear hug so tight, Tifa thought he might crush her by accident. "How ya doin'?" 

"Never been better," she replied. "What are you doing here?" 

Barrett shrugged. "This guy I know, asked me to come down here an' find him some chocobos. Payin' a thousand gil apiece." 

"Sounds like a pretty good deal," Tifa said and nodded her approval. "Will you be staying a few days?" 

"S'pose I am." 

"You know you're welcome to stay at the bar any time," she told him. "How is Marlene?" 

Barrett grinned. "She's gettin' big. And so smart. Reminds me more of her mother every day," he said. "Oh, I saw that spiky headed smart ass, Cloud 'bout a month ago at the Gold Saucer." 

"The Gold Saucer? What was he doing there?" 

"The usual." 

"Visiting Dio?" 

Barrett nodded and gazed around. The beach held his attention for several seconds before he spoke. "Hey Tif, the hell's that?" he asked, pointing. Tifa followed his gaze and cocked her head at the figure laying face down in the sand. She hadn't noticed it earlier, but she had not looked directly at the beach; she'd been looking for the storm clouds, not mysterious bodies on the beach. 

The pair began to walk down the beach, curious. Tifa hoped it was just a piece of drift wood that had washed up, an illusion cast by shadows. 

The closer they drew, however, the more certain Tifa became that it was a body.   
  
  
  


Selphie sat cross legged on the stage in the Quad flipping through a catalogue of party decorations. She was thinking of going with a tropical theme this year but didn't have the funds to spend on elaborate decorations. That meant she was stuck with last year's lame decorations for the equally lame toga theme the student committee had chose. Perhaps Cid would approve a small budget to purchase more appropriate decorations. It was summer, after all. Summer needed summer type decor. Now, to choose the colors . . . . yellow of course, and . . . . . . 

"Selph," Zell called out and cut off Selphie's train of thought. His expression was grave, his eyes concerned. 

"Everything ok?" 

He shook his head. "Bad news from Esthar. Selph, they think Rinoa, Seifer, Irvine and Nida are dead . . . ." 

Selphie stared at him, blank faced, not understanding what he meant. "Dead." 

Zell nodded, his eyes tearing up. "The boat they were on . . . in pieces when they found it. No bodies . . . no one found yet. They don't think they will find anyone . . . . not alive anyway . . . ." 

"No." Selphie whispered. "No. No, no, no." 

Zell took her by the hand and nodded. 

Selphie's wail of grief could be heard throughout Garden; it sounded as if her soul had shattered.   
  
  
  
  


Seifer was dimly aware of approaching footsteps, but he didn't have the strength to lift his head from the sand. He was aware that there was sand in his mouth, but he didn't bother to spit it out. 

He didn't know where he was and he didn't care. He might have died and been sent straight to hell and it wouldn't have bothered him. What did bother him was the tremendous ache in his legs and lower back. He was certain that he'd broken bones, but he was unable to move to do anything about it, he was simply too weak and too tired. 

"Goodness," a woman's voice said, soft and silky against his sun burnt ears. "Do you think he's dead?" 

"Ain't got a clue," a second voice replied. This one belonged to a man, and where the woman's voice had been gentle, his was as coarse as sand paper, heavy with an accent Seifer could not place. 

A hand touched his neck, feeling for a pulse, and it lingered there for a few seconds before pulling away. "He's alive," the woman said. "Barrett, help me get him back to Mideel. He probably needs medical attention." 

"Sure that's a good idea, Tif?" The man said. "Don't know nothin' 'bout him. Might be one of them con artists or somethin'. Heard 'bout them pretendin' to be hurt an' then stealin' the silverware in the middle of the night." 

"You'll be there, right?" 

"Yeah, but . . ." 

"Come on Barrett, have a heart." 

"That's your problem, Tif. You got too big a heart." 

Seifer felt himself lifted off the ground and the pain intensified. Despite himself, he moaned. It felt as if someone had stuck a knife in his back, right between the hips. He was blinded by the pain and he was close to unconsciousness. He realized with sudden clarity that he could not feel his feet. He willed his toes to move inside his boots and was horrified to find that they did not, and if the had, he couldn't feel them move. 

Was he paralyzed? How had that happened? 

How did he get here, and who were these people? 

He couldn't remember anything except that his name was Seifer Almasy and he was a SeeD at Balamb Garden. 

"Barrett?" the woman said. "Look at this." 

"The hell's that?" 

"A sword of some kind," the woman said, sounding perplexed. "A sword with a gun attached." 

Seifer willed himself to speak then, wishing to communicate to them that the weapon belonged to him. At first his mouth would not take the form of any words. His mouth was dry and gritty with sand, his lips cracked and blistered from exposure. "M.....m....mi...mine," he managed to hiss. "Guh.....hun....bu....bu....lade." 

A second of shocked silence followed, then the woman spoke. "Mister, are you all right?" 

"Huh....hurt." 

"I know. We're going to get you some help. There's a hospital in the town where I live, we'll take you there," she said. "Can you tell me your name?" 

"Ss.....sei....ff...fe....r." 

"Seifer?" 

"Yuh...." 

Seifer opened his eyes. His lids were sore and the light burned. Nevertheless, he forced them to open so he could see who he was speaking to. 

She was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. "Huh....huh....hi," he croaked out as their eyes met. They were a most unusual shade of amber, a colour that he had never seen before in human eyes. 

Humiliating to be in this position, injured and unable to walk on his own, especially in front of her. 

"Shh. Don't talk," the woman said. 

He struggled to say something brave, tried to laugh away his injuries. 

Then, Seifer Almasy lost consciousness.   
  
  
  


_A/N: I apologize for any mistakes in the first two chapters. That would be a combination of changing from first person to third and the fact that English is not my first language. I think I speak and write very good English, but occasionally I make mistakes in translation or syntax. If you find any errors, you will have to forgive me._ _Thanks to Pod Sara, my beta reader for this chapter. She has been my sounding board on all things for this story, most especially the dialogue. I still have some trouble with that, especially with a character like Barrett....._

_Thank you for reviewing. :) Make Moe happy. Review some more._


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